ABSTRACT
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the American naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea consisted of only three ships: one light cruiser and two destroyers. These three were a remnant of World War IPs Naval Forces North African Waters and were organized into Task Force 125. This decidedly modest force reflected Washington’s judgment that at that time the United States had relatively limited direct national interests in the Mediterranean. Task Force 125 was, nevertheless, the seed that sprouted in a few years into the US 6th Fleet which would dominate the security architecture in the Mediterranean for the next five decades.
